Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Our middle school students had the opportunity to step back
in to history, 1828. We visited the gold mines in Dahlonega, Georgia. Twenty
years before the 1849 Gold Rush, gold was discovered there. The students were
able to see where it all happened, deep underground. Students also had the
opportunity to pan for gold and some gems for themselves. We all walked away a
little richer.

The third, fourth, and fifth grade classes had a superb time
visiting the Chattahoochee Nature Center for their first field trip of the
2014-2015 school year! Each of the classes was taken on their own guided tour
by a Naturalist who helped them stock up on interactive science facts pertinent
to their different grade levels. Students saw various bird species, including
owls, hawks, falcons, and even an eagle! They also saw frogs, turtles, and a
beaver's dam! Each class also had a close encounter with one of the center's
animal residents! The students all enjoyed a group lunch on the pavilion near
the lake, and they concluded their visit with an exploration of the Discovery Center.

Congratulations to all students selected to Student Council
this year. The members of Student Council held their second meeting today and
voted for Student Council Officers. Based on today's election the following
students are elected as Student Council Officers this year:

President - Mira Mutnick (8th Grade)

Vice President - Ananya Terala (8th Grade)

Treasurer - Anthony Miramontes (6th Grade)

Secretary - Chloe Richardson (8th Grade)

Congratulations to the newly elected Student Council
Officers! We wish them success serving FSAPS student body this year.

Students in Mrs. Duzyol’s Algebra Honors class enjoyed
solving system of equations in a VERY new and FUN way- by scanning QR codes
with their smart phones and then solving each one. Each
correctly answered QR coded question’s answer would lead you to the mystery
location of the next QR code. Mrs. Duzyol’s students enthusiastically solved
equations to be able to find and solve another one! Tell me that doesn’t sound
like a math teachers dream J All the students are already looking forward to
their next QR Code Scavenger Hunt experience.

A big shout-out to two of our 5th Grade students, Spiros and
Anastasia Kefalas. FSAPS wants to say Congratulations on their awesome dance
performance at the 2014 Cumming Greek Festival this past weekend. Ms. Minor,
Ms. P, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Kurt, Mr. Kaya, and Principal Sener had an awesome
time sitting in the audience, experiencing Greek traditions, enjoying delicious
Greek food, and watching Spiros and Anastasia's dance group do authentic Greek
dancing. Both of these students truly shined throughout their performance! FSA
is so proud of them! Please see a picture of Ms. P and Ms. Minor with Anastasia
and Spiros below.

FSAPS Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students will be
heading to see Farmer Sue and her fabulous Art Barn on Friday, November 7th.
All the kids will go on a hayride, watch a cool video on sheering sheep, have a
picnic lunch, and create a painting in the Art Barn! However, the BEST part
about visiting the Art Barn is learning about and interacting with all of the
rescued animals on the farm. From baby chicks to donkeys, this farm has
friendly animals in all shapes and sizes!

Information and permission forms will home tomorrow to all
Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade families. The permission form and $20 payment
to go on this trip are due to your homeroom teacher by Tuesday, November 4th.
Questions or desire to be a chaperone? Please contact Ms. Ashley Fichter at afichter@fultonscienceacademy.org

Friday, October 17, 2014

FSAPS 7th grader, Charlie Furniss received third place based on his performance in the individual written test at Columbia High School Math QUIZ Bowl on Saturday Oct 4th. At this competition, no teams were placed and only the best three individual performances were rewarded and Charlie is one of them. Congratulations to Charlie for this great accomplishment! Please see some pictures from Saturday below.

On Tuesday, October 7th the Kindergarten students in Ms. Fichter and Ms. P's class experienced their very first Kindergarten Career Day as an extension of their Social Studies unit. Many of our Kindergarten parents visited during Career Day to tell students about their jobs, answer questions the students had about their careers, and even included the Kindergarteners in some interactive activities to learn about their jobs! Our students heard from different doctors and were able to use real stethoscopes! They were given the chance to play on an iPad on an App created by one of our parents. They became computer programmers by giving two of our parents specific directions about how to make a sandwich... much like creating detailed and specific instructions for a computer program! They learned about Computer Programming, The Weather Channel, creators of different iPad applications, an attorney, a Radio Engineer for AT&T, and the Nurse profession. The students were so excited to hear about the many different career opportunities represented by our Kindergarten parents, and were so curious about what each of the positions entailed. A giant THANK YOU to the parents who volunteered their time to share with our students... they had a fantastic time learning about the many different career opportunities in the world!

Future City Team had a wonderful camp last weekend. Students enjoyed the great study environment and worked on the virtual cities that they created for the competition.Students created their virtual cities using SimCity software. Final version of their Future City project is to reflect progress 150 years into the future and should have a population of 60,000 people at least.The software game is a wonderful opportunity for students to see how a city is run and all the things involved in development of a city.

Students also worked on their essay that is addressing this year's theme of "Feeding Future Cities." According to the this year's theme students are to choose one vegetable and one protein and design a way to grow enough of each within their future city limits to feed their citizens. After searching through websites students learned a lot about nutrition values of various vegetables,many farming techniques,problems humankind facing as the world population is growing and solutions for them.

Kindergarten through 2nd grade students had such a wonderful time at Berry Patch Farms last Friday! The students had a blast riding the hay ride, picking pumpkins, and taking fun fall pictures. The students were especially excited to try the homemade apple cider and observe the farm animals. Once the students were given lunch, the elementary teachers and parent volunteers set up fall centers for the students. The students rotated to each center where they heard fall stories, learned how to line dance, had their faces painted, and made a fall craft. What a great day for FSA!

In Pre-K, we have been reading a story entitled Tasting Time on Harmony Street and have learned that your culture consists of the things you do, believe, wear and even the food that you eat. We all have a unique culture that we share with the world. Last Friday, our students came to school dressed in their native attire and brought a dish to share with our class that represented their culture. For Show-N-Tell, we shared items from our countries, we created flags and had lots of fun! In addition, we had a special collaborative lesson with our Turkish teacher.

FSA PS Math Olympiad Team had an Amazing Cabin Camp on Saturday, October 11th! J
Students solved AMC 8 released questions & SAT Math Questions with the guidance of Mrs. Duzyol. The students presented their solutions to AMC 8 questions on individual dry erase boards and Mrs. Duzyol demonstrated a visual and hands-on proof for Triangle-Inequality theorem. The students were able to show-off what they learned during a concluding mini-competition. Students not only fine-tuned their mathematical abilities but their athleticism by taking a break to play soccer and basketball every once in a while. Overall, the campers enjoyed a fun-filled and challenging get-away weekend.

NJHS is collecting letters from FSAPS students and parents to donate to The Bert Show’s “The Big Thank You 2014”.

There will be collection boxes in the front office and Mrs. Flowers’ classroom. Directions for the format of the letters are below.

If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Flowers at rflowers@fultonscienceacademy.org.

The following comes from The Bert Show Website:
Every single serviceman and woman deployed outside the United States deserves to receive a letter of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. We want to give our troops a “Big Thank You” with a little taste of home this Thanksgiving.”
Over the past several years, The Bert Show community helped to express a BIG THANK YOU with over a million hand written letters of thanks to every serviceman and woman deployed outside the United States. This year our goal is the same, but we can only do this with your help. Let’s pull together to make this project a success.
Each letter should be heartfelt, handwritten, original, and free of any political statements. The purpose of the letter is to express thanks to the military personnel currently deployed outside the United States. We reserve the right to eliminate those messages that are political in nature and do not reflect a positive message in the spirit of Thanksgiving.
· All letters must be on 8.5” x 11” paper or smaller.
· Do not use glue, tape, staples, cardboard, glitter or otherwise attach anything to the paper.
· NO construction paper.
· Decorate using crayons, markers, pens or pencils.
· Use both sides if you like, but use one page per letter only.
· Do not send greeting cards or photographs.
· Feel free to include your mailing and email address.
· Individual letters should not be sealed in envelopes.
· Do not send anything except letters.
(We cannot accept donations of any kind, and they should not be included or attached to letters.)

Ms. Teber’s 6th grade Turkish students did a spectacular job at the last Turkish Exam & were rewarded by a party that Ms. Ayer hosted at her house. After dinner, students, teachers & parents played FREEZE game in the back yard. The game was very competitive & a lot of FUN! J Special thanks go to Ms. Ayer, Ms. Uppaluri and Ms. Duzyol for their help & support! J

As teachers, we now understand that a child’s brain development is influenced significantly when he or she manipulates the world around them. Puzzles are a perfect tool to provide this vital opportunity. In Puzzle Club, children learn to change the shape and appearance of their environment when they work with puzzles. Puzzles also provide the opportunity for children to develop their fine motor skills and eye to hand coordination. Fine motor skills are a necessary component for handwriting and other skills that require strong pincer grasps.

Puzzles also enable children to use logic when problem solving. The piece of the puzzle either fits or it doesn’t. As children put the pieces of a puzzle together, they develop strategies that enable them to become faster and more efficient as they move on to more complicated puzzles. This allows children to work towards smaller goals that ultimately empower them to succeed with larger goals. Many modern games and toys provide instant gratification which robs children of the ability to tolerate patience and benefit from delayed gratification.

When a struggling student successfully completes a puzzle independently, what a rewarding sense of accomplishment he or she experiences! Seeing that triumphing smile and hearing that victory shout, "Look, I did it!" is one of the many gifts I receive as a teacher!

A great start to home visits this year. We have already visited almost 25% of our families so far.

How can you schedule a home visit?
Very simple. Please send an e-mail to our home visit coordinator, Mrs. Unal at junal@fultonscienceacademy.org and give us three available dates for your child's home visit program. We will get back to you and confirm a date. Depending on our teacher’s availability, at least two teachers will be together to visit our students and parents at their homes. For any questions you have about this program, send an e-mail to junal@fultonscienceacademy.org.
The best times to schedule a home visit are weekdays after 5:00 pm, and anytime during the weekends except Sunday mornings.